Cruden at the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award evaluation day
For the first time in the 21-year history of one of motorsport's most prestigious recognition, the 2010 McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award evaluation day included a professional racing simulator. The inclusion of a Cruden Hexatech 6-DOF simulator reflected the importance of the role of simulators - for circuit familiarisation, training and race car and component development - in the life of a modern racing driver working at the highest level.
The McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award was set up in 1989 to reward and recognise young racing drivers from the UK. Backed by Formula One team McLaren, motorsport magazine AUTOSPORT, and the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), the prize package includes a test drive in a McLaren Formula One car and £100,000 cash prize. The McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award tests took place at Silverstone in early November. The six finalists chosen by the panel from AUTOSPORT readers' nominations took part in two days of running on the Grand Prix circuit with Formula 2 and DTM cars. The seven judges then interviewed the half-dozen at the McLaren Technology Centre, before settling on the outstanding candidate from the best of this year's British driving talent. The simulator was on hand for drivers to experience in between their track driving. Judges were keen to observe how the drivers reacted to the experience of driving a GT sports car model around the Dutch Zandvoort track in a full motion simulator for the first time.
"Only one of the drivers had driven a simulator before, and that was a fixed base system, so the whole idea of a motion simulator was very new" says Frank Kalff, Cruden's commercial director. "We are used to observing different mentalities when people approach the simulator for the first time - just like when people get behind the wheel of a car - and things were no different for this evaluation. Using a simulator is not for everyone at the beginning and we saw varying levels of adaptation; a couple of the drivers saw the fun side and clearly had a ball coming back again and again! All of them needed some time to acclimatise and were quick to learn how to understand it, recognising the importance of the simulator driving task in their future careers."
It was Lewis Williamson that won the award and a major boost to his career at the Autosport Awards evening in December.
